This "paw" suit has gone too far

Everyone deserves his day in court, but should every dog have its day?

After 10 years, you'd think Russ Greenberg would have gotten over the death of his dog, Petey, which was shot to death by Palm Beach County Sheriff's deputies responding to a call about a vicious dog.

Instead, Greenberg is taking his "paw suit" to court — one of a small but growing number of animal-rights cases that seek above-market compensation for a dog's death. His attorney, Barry Silver, has developed a modest practice over the years by representing South Florida pet owners in such suits.

This particular case involves the fatal shooting of Petey, Greenberg's American Staffordshire Terrier.

It happened in Boca Raton in May 2002 after deputies responded to an emergency call about a 12-year-old girl who had been bitten by a dog while walking home from a school bus stop. When the officers arrived, they encountered Petey.

Sgt. Bruce Hannan said the dog approached in a "threatening manner." Deputy Joseph Caroscio said the dog ran toward him at full sprint.

They shot the dog — Hannan with a .40 caliber handgun, Caroscio with a pump-action shotgun.

The deputies insist the shootings were necessary. As Caroscio wrote in his incident report: "I felt it was necessary to use deadly force and utilize my shotgun to neutralize the threat of the pursuing dog."

Apparently Petey had a history of aggression. The department's lawyers say a neighbor had previously asked Greenberg to do a better job of containing his dog.

Greenberg, on the other hand, told Sun Sentinel reporter Marc Freeman his dog was always friendly and "looked like a teddy bear." He and his attorney characterized the shooting as "so extreme in degree as to go beyond all possible bounds of decency." They want a jury to penalize the sheriff's office by making it pay compensation in excess of $15,000.

Such an award is outside the lines set by Florida law, which restricts such claims to normal replacement value, much like any other piece of property. The sheriff's office also has asked the court to make Greenberg reimburse the cost of having to defend itself against unsubstantiated claims. Greenberg's attorney, in turn, is seeking sanctions for what he calls conflicting testimony given by deputies.

Unless Greenberg's attorney can prove the officers acted maliciously in shooting the dog, Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge David Crow has refused to allow a civil jury to hear his claim for "intentional infliction of emotional distress." Silver thinks he can make the case.

Mediation, unfortunately, has failed to work. And so, after a decade of waiting, Greenberg will get his three-day trial, starting next Tuesday.

Granted, the death of a beloved pet can be traumatic. It must be terrible to see your dog of seven years shot repeatedly.

But an emotional price tag doesn't square with state statute. Nor should it consume docket space in Florida's already congested courts.

Let's remember that a 12-year-old girl was bitten here. And deputies felt threatened. And a dog owner failed to control his dog.

This case should never have gotten this far. Given what we now know, let's hope the jury comes down on the side of public safety, quickly and decisively.